Voting matters — Issue 25

There are three items in this issue available at the Voting matters web site:

• Thomas Hare: A New Statistical Method
  This is a reprint of his classic paper to match the one in the previous issue by H R Droop. Both of these articles raise issues about the voting for the House of Commons which have still not been resolved! It is hoped that making both of these articles more accessible will enhance the understanding of STV.
• Pater Emerson: Review - The Persuadable Voter
  This item is a book review. The editor is now being offered books to review on a regular basis and hence one review per issue is likely to be the norm. This review of a book by D Sunshine Hillygus and Todd G Shields has a distinct US perspective but should be of interest to all at this time with the November presidential election. Peter Emerson provides some useful insights into both the book and the political background which I hope will be of interest to all.
• Philip Kestelman: On Measuring Transferable Voting Proportionality
  Philip Kestelman's paper is a significant technical contribution to the tricky question of proportionality. This builds upon his previous paper published in Voting matters in June 2005. The vexed question with STV elections of considering either the first preferences or final count is overcome by listing both in the tables of the analysis.